High Power

A long tradition at the Pemi is high power rifle shooting, and we run a number of competitions every year. It usually starts with a late-winter match, often in late March but recently it's drifted into early April. We've also been known to have a shoot in early February!

But the heart of our match season comes in the warmer months.

We usually lead off with a "CMP clinic", a day-long introductory class about rifle competition using high power rifles.

A lot of our high power competitions every year are in matches associated with the New Hampshire High Power Rifle League. This is a collection of four clubs in the state. And recently a club in Massachusetts joined the League. Each of the five clubs in the League runs 5 or 6 matches a year. Shooters from all the clubs can shoot at any or all of these matches, and it's a great way to meet shooters from other parts of the state. The matches themselves are relatively quick: 50-shots, mostly rapid fire, with plenty of sighters.

The Pemi used to run a military rifle match (called the "Edson's Ridge Match", commemorating an early WW II battle, and the idea was so successful that it was taken up by many other clubs, so many in fact that attendance here at the Pemi dropped offquite a bit. However, we're renewing that tradition in a slightly modified form. These matches typically commemorate a battle in a past war. For example, the inaugural match of this series was one from the Viet Nam war called the "Battle of the Ia Drang Valley" shoot. This was less a precision marksmanship match and more of a calm-under-pressure match. Bob Anderson runs these matches; contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Also new are our long-range gong shoots. The format is fluid, but the goal is accuracy at 500 or 600 yards. Peter Merisal runs these matches; contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 802-222-4236.

And finally, although small-bore rifles (.22LR) are not considered "high power rifles", I'd like to mention the Pemi's growing small-bore rifle program. A lot of high power shooters shoot small-bore rifle matches, too, for fun and to stay in shape. Typically, we'll run an NRA "conventional" small-bore match on May, a "Mini-Palma Match" where we use target simulating 800, 900, and 1,000 yards, and then the "International Plymouth Match". Tom Bubolz runs these matches; contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For general information about rifle matches, contact Randy Enger at 978-443-5429 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or check the web calendar at www.pemi.org.